Washington DC - First Lady Melania Trump is facing ridicule for hawking an expensive luxury handbag for charity as the US continues to face a serious affordability crisis.

On Monday, Melania shared an X post praising Alexandra Gucci Zarini for creating "the beautifully important UNITY handbag."

Gucci has promised to contribute 20% of every bag sold to Melania's Fostering the Future initiative, which the first lady says will help in "transforming lives" by giving foster youth "access to college, eventually leading to job security and financial independence."

The bag retails at $2,800.

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In her own post promoting the bag, Zarini said she has always admired Melania's "quiet yet unwavering devotion to children – especially foster youth who are so often overlooked," and it was "an extraordinary honor" to support her.

Zarini also gave an interview with Fox News on Sunday, in which she revealed that she "worked closely together" with Melania, who was "very much involved" in the bag's design and detail.

The promotion comes as Melania and her husband, President Donald Trump, have faced criticism for using their positions to hawk various business ventures, such as meme coins and the first lady's wildly expensive upcoming documentary film.

President Trump also ran on the promise to bring down the cost of living for Americans. As prices have only gone up in his second term, he has publicly called concerns over affordability "fake."